Former Seahawks defensive coordinators Gus Bradley and Dan Quinn seem poised to battle for the services of their former pupil, Seattle linebacker Bruce Irvin.

Bradley, entering his fourth season as head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars, and Quinn, who went 8-8 in his first year in charge of the Atlanta Falcons in 2015, are both set to pursue the 28-year-old Irvin when free agency kicks off next week.

Both teams are desperate for pass rushers, but Bradley's Jaguars seem to be the frontrunners for Irvin's services.

Jacksonville has over $40 million more in cap space than Atlanta, and on Tuesday they hired personnel assistant DeJuan Polk away from the Falcons, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Polk should be able to give the Jags inside information on Atlanta's plans to go after Irvin and other free agent targets.

ESPN's John Clayton estimated Wednesday that the former 2012 first-round pick could command about $9.5 million per year on the open market, but CBS Sports' Jason La Canfora later tweeted that number could be much higher.

NFL execs I know would do cartwheels to land Bruce Irvin anywhere near $9M/year some suggesting FWIW. price will be significantly higher

Seattle selected Irvin with the No. 15 overall pick in 2012, when he set a franchise rookie record with 8.0 sacks. He transitioned from a pass-rushing end to outside linebacker in his second season, developing into a solid all-around player, but never approaching the sack numbers he put up in his rookie campaign.

The Seahawks declined his fifth-year option of his rookie contract last offseason, making him an unrestricted free agent in March. Last offseason, Irvin told a reporter he planned to play for his hometown Falcons in 2016 before backing away from those comments.

"If it came to that, I would definitely come back," Irvin said. "I'm not asking for $100 million. I'm not asking for nothing crazy. Just want to be appreciated. I just come to work and do my job, and like I said, everything will work itself out."

After an injury-ravaged 2015 season, and sporting a salary cap number of $11.5 million for 2016, it's all but a foregone conclusion that the Seahawks will move on from "Beast Mode" this offseason. Cutting or trading Lynch will save Seattle $6.5 million against the cap in 2016 and $10 million in 2017, the final year of a two-year extension he signed in March. Given that Lynch is coming off the first surgery of his illustrious career and his repeated clashes with management, perhaps a better question than whether or not he returns to the Seahawks next season is whether Lynch has played his last NFL game, period.

Update: Lynch announced his retirement via Twitter on Feb. 7. His decision to walk away from the game was subsequently confirmed by his agent.

Here's what we know: The Seahawks didn't budge when Chancellor held out from training camp, the preseason, and Seattle's first two regular-season games. The team also planned on collecting much, if not all, of the over $1 million in fines he racked up during the holdout. Here's what we don’t yet know: Does Chancellor still think he deserves a new deal after signing a four-year, $28 million extension in 2013? If he does, he'll likely be following Lynch out the door via trade or release, particularly after a 2015 season in which he didn't quite live up to his lofty standards on the field and showed signs of breaking down with injuries.

Like Chancellor, Bennett displayed his unhappiness with his current contract last offseason. Unlike Chancellor, Bennett reported to training camp on time before playing the best football of his career in a 2015 campaign that should have garnered him an All-Pro selection. One of the most versatile defensive linemen in football, Bennett is nearly irreplaceable. Partially for that reason, he's remained vocal about his discontent with the four-year, $32 million deal he signed in 2014. All his contract talk hasn't gone unnoticed. Don't be surprised if the Seahawks think they can get a decent return by trading him away when he's at his most valuable.

Mebane, the longest-tenured Seahawks player, and Rubin, an under-the-radar, free-agent signing last season, were two of the biggest reasons why Seattle led the league in rushing defense in 2015, allowing just 81.5 yards per game on the ground. Both will be unrestricted free agents in March. At 31 and just a year removed from missing six games due to injury in 2014, Mebane (above) seems less likely to get a new deal than the 29-year-old Rubin, whom head coach Pete Carroll called the best 3-technique (lining up outside the opponent's guard, rather than the tackle) defensive tackle he's had in Seattle. But with the oft-injured Jordan Hill and Demarcus Dobbs as the team's top reserves, defensive tackle seems to be a position in need of a major depth upgrade this offseason.

Okung, the first draft pick of the Pete Carroll/John Schneider era in Seattle, presents a curious case. On one hand, he's been the team's best offensive lineman for much of the past five years, giving the Seahawks a good (not great) player at the all-important left tackle spot. On the other hand, he's missed 18 regular-season games over that time period, and no one quite knows how his decision to represent himself in free agency will manifest itself. Could it be that Okung knows he wants to re-sign with Seattle and was unwilling to pay a percentage on a deal he thinks he can work out on his own? Or did he and former agent Peter Schaffer disagree on his market value? If that's the case, it might signal that Okung is looking to break the bank, which will likely happen elsewhere.

Seattle's offensive line remains its Achilles' heel and a major factor why the offense struggled through the first half of the 2015 season. In addition to Okung, two more starters -- center Patrick Lewis (above) and J.R. Sweezy -- are also free agents (Lewis is a restricted free agent), meaning the team can't just stand pat this offseason with hopes the unit coalesces better in 2016. It seems likely there will be quite a bit of turnover in the group this offseason. Does that mean the three 2015 draft picks -- tackle Terry Poole, guard Mark Glowinski and athlete Kristjan Sokoli -- get a shot at major roles in 2016, or will the Seahawks spend more draft capital on the line this offseason?

Acquiring Graham was Seattle's splashiest move last offseason. A year later, the results on the blockbuster deal are decidedly mixed. It took some time, but Graham eventually became comfortable with Russell Wilson and the Seahawks' offense, which his statistics (48 receptions for 605 yards and two touchdowns through 11 games) bear out. But after suffering a potentially catastrophic patellar tendon tear in Week 12, there's no guarantee he'll be available by the start of next season. In fact, there's no guarantee he'll be available at any point in 2016, when he's due to make $9 million. What the team does to bolster depth at that position this offseason should tell us a lot about the Seahawks' expectations for Graham moving forward.

When Seattle selected Irvin with the No. 15 overall pick in 2012, many pegged it as a reach for an admittedly athletic player who didn't have a true position in the NFL. But after transitioning from a pass-rushing end to outside linebacker in his second season, Irvin has turned into a steady performer with 22 career sacks. The Seahawks declined his fifth-year option last offseason, meaning he's an unrestricted free agent this year. Though he told reporters he'd take less to stay in Seattle, it's hard to imagine there won't be a team willing to give Irvin much more than he could make with the Seahawks, quite possibly Jacksonville or Atlanta, both of which are coached by former Seattle defensive coordinators in Gus Bradley and Dan Quinn, respectively.

Kearse is another unrestricted free agent from the class of 2012 whom the Seahawks would love to keep. The former undrafted free agent from Washington didn't enter the NFL with a lot of fanfare, but he's developed into a really good fit for Seattle's offense. Yes, he drops the occasional ball, but he makes up for it with clutch catches and steady run blocking. The Seahawks have no proven depth behind Kearse, Doug Baldwin and Tyler Lockett, so look for them to make every effort to bring him back. We have a feeling this gets done fairly easily, particularly because he doesn't seem like the kind of player another franchise would throw tons of money at in the open market.

10. Is the starting cornerback opposite Richard Sherman on the roster?

The Seahawks thought they took care of their right-outside cornerback spot (at least in the short term) when they signed veteran Cary Williams (above) in their biggest free-agent move of 2015. But Williams' ineffectiveness led to his benching before a December release, and who mans the spot -- formerly held by the likes of Byron Maxwell and Brandon Browner -- next season is anyone's guess. The possibilities include in-house options in an unrestricted free agent (Jeremy Lane), an exclusive-right free agent (DeShawn Shead) or a practice squad player (Stanley Jean-Baptiste). Or it could be someone not yet on the roster.

Since signing Ryan one week into the 2008 season, the Seahawks have been set at punter. In fact, the former Regina Rams wide receiver has been a secret weapon during Seattle's rise to the top of the NFL, showing a particular penchant for pinning opposing teams inside their own 20-yard line. Ryan didn't have a great 2015 season and is set to become an unrestricted free agent at 34. With all of their other free agent needs, it's possible the Seahawks look to cut costs by bringing in a younger, cheaper and likely less-proven commodity at the position. Then again, special teams has always been a focus for Carroll, so don't expect him to make a move that hurts the team there just to save some money.

At some point the Seahawks will have to develop a long-term backup quarterback behind Wilson. Is this the year? After signing three consecutive one-year contracts with Seattle, Tarvaris Jackson could be back again next year. But each year he remains in the league, the 32-year-old gets more and more expensive. We wouldn't be shocked to see the Seahawks do one more one-year deal with Jackson and draft a developmental prospect in the later rounds. Former Eastern Washington and Oregon star Vernon Adams (above) seems to be an ideal fit.